The present invention relates to a link chain comprising chain links interconnected at respective hinge points by a hinge bolt, at least one bearing bushing arranged on a hinge bolt, at least one roller arranged on said bearing bushing such that it is rotatable about the hinge bolt, and an axial retaining means attached to the hinge bolt and used for axially securing the bearing bushing and the roller.
Such link chains provided with rollers are used as conveyor chains in most cases. In the case of known conveyor chains, the hinge bolt is extended on one side thereof for this purpose, and the hinge bolt itself or the hinge bolt with additional components attached thereto is used for transporting a great variety of objects. Especially if the objects transported have very little weight, it is extremely important to guarantee that the chain runs as smoothly as possible so that the objects can be transported without any transport accidents. Up to now, bearing bushings consisting of plastic material have been press-fitted into the rollers which were then arranged on the hinge bolts in a freely rotatable manner. For certain cases of use, the rollers were guided in rails so that the chain could be guided precisely. In most cases, the bearing bushings with the rollers press-fitted thereon were axially fixed via retaining washers which were press-fitted on said bearing bushings and which provided only such an amount of axial play that the roller was freely rotatable. Although, due to the use of a bearing bushing of plastic material, this kind of structural design proved to be a useful solution for many cases of use, transport accidents still occur especially when objects having very little weight are being transported, said transport accidents being especially due to undesired vibrations.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a link chain of the type cited at the start, which operates freer from vibrations.